4 ms·
One thing I was surprised to learn, mostly because growing up I always thought of AC as extravagant, it’s more energy efficient to cool a building than it is to
by bluejekyll 4y ago
One thing I was surprised to learn, mostly because growing up I always thought of AC as extravagant, it’s more energy efficient to cool a building than it is to heat it.
- bugbuddy 4y agoIf you flip your windows AC unit around, then you get the exact amount of heat energy removed by the AC in the form of hot air going into your room. This is called a heat exchanger. It was just cheaper to use gas furnace heater when most home was built and it is still true in many places.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- icegreentea2 4y agoThat's both a function of technological efficiency (direct heating vs heat pump), and the temperature deltas we need to achieve. Using my Southern Ontario reference point, typical cooling needs are only 10-20 degrees C, while typical heating needs would be closer to 20-30 degrees. As use of heat pumps increase, and average temperatures continue to climb, the balance between heating and cooling costs will shift (this is obviously a very regional phenomenon).
- throwaheyy 4y agoA reverse-cycle air conditioner is equally efficient at heating a building as cooling one.